Ten foresters have been promoted and 11 officials transferred in the second round of movement in the forest department within a month.

The Asiatic lions in Gir have got a new superintendent, Dr Sandeep Kumar, who has been promoted from assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Rajpipla (East), to deputy conservator of forests (DCF), sanctuary superintendent, Sasan. Incumbent IA Chauhan has been transferred.

Six officials have been promoted from DCF to conservator of forests (CF), while three have been promoted from ACF to DCF.

Dr Jaypal Singh, DCF on state deputation posted as joint secretary, Narmada, water resources, water supply and Kalpasar department, has been promoted to CF and his services have been kept under the disposal of the same department to give him a suitable posting. DP Tipre, RS Panwar, SP Sisodiya, VT Korvadia, SM Patel and RC Mistry are among the DCFs promoted to CFs.

The lions have lost the known face of Dr K Sasi Kumar, who has been promoted from ACF, Gir (West), to DCF, Rajpipla (East).

GIR (JUNAGADH): In yet another forest fire, 35 hector of grassland in Farada Vidi of Babariya range of Gir west was set ablaze on Friday. However, no wildlife casualty or any widespread damage was reported as the fire was doused by 150 labourers accompanied by foresters.

"Fire broke out at about two in the afternoon and went on till four in the evening," said range forest officer Shashi Kumar.

"Such forest fires are common occurrence during summer. Grass blades are dry and so catches fire easily, forcing wild animals to shift their habitats," said Kumar.

A fire broke out in vidi (waste land) near Faroda village of Gir Gadhda taluka near Una. This land is part of Babariya Range in Gir West. It engulfed about 500 acres of grassland. Due to forest department's timely efforts it was controlled preventing its spreading into adjoining forest. No animal casualties are reported.

Ahmedabd : It was a moment of satisfaction for a huge team of police, forensic science and forest department officials, who worked for months, when the third and final group of 16 poachers were convicted by Bhavnagar court on Thursday morning.

It is the first instance in the country where due to watertight case against the accused, not a single poacher got bail and all of them got convicted due to strong evidence collected with the help of forensic experts. Officials involved with the case believe that the conviction will prevent future offences.

Keshav Kumar, the then IG, CID (Crime), who was in-charge of the investigation, told TOI that the case was unique. "For the first time, a wildlife crime investigation came to CID. Right from the matchbox found in the forest to the lion nail clippings found from the spot became important evidence that convicted the accused,"he said.

He added that all the evidences were collected with the help of forensic science experts and everything was documented properly. "We sought help of forensic experts in every step. When the accused were caught, the first thing we did was to remove shirts of some of the accused. By examining them forensic experts could tell us that there were lion blood stains," he said.

The case was also a success for forensic scientist. JM Vyas, director , Directorate of Forensic Science (DFC), Gandhinagar said that the case has become a study on crime scene management and evidence collection. "We had to examine an area spanning over acres. The department's deputy director MS Dahiya camped for a fortnight in the forest and collected all important evidences and documented it. Narco analysis was also performed on some of the accused," he said.

With the help of scientific tools, CID officials recreated the crime scene to know how the lions were killed. "A trap was laid. Once the animal fell into it, a spear with methyl parathion was inserted in its mouth, killing the lion. The bones were then taken away and sold in the international market. A dead lion can fetch more than Rs 50 lakh in an international marker,' said an official involved with the investigation.

Friday, February 27, 2009

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat forest department arrested 10 youths for sneaking into the reserved forest area of Gir to watch lions. This was the second incident since January where people trespassed into the forest to watch lions.

Last month a youth was killed when he went too close to click pictures of a lion pair mating. According to Maneshwar Raja, deputy conservator of forest (Gir east), "The group of 10 youths had entered the reserved forest area in Nani Vadan Virdi on motorbikes from Vijaypadi village in Savarkundla taluka for illegal lion shows." Their five bikes were also impounded.

Raja said this was an offence and hence the forest department has levied a fine of Rs 15,000 from each of the trespassers to deter them from repeating the offence.

Officials said the youths were aware of the presence of some 8-10 lions in the area and had come for the show. Earlier, gangs from outside Gujarat have been held for poaching lions in Gir.

The Times of India had in April last year exposed how illegal lion shows were held in Gir by using live baits to attract lions in the presence of audience, who paid between Rs 2,500 and Rs 10,000 for one show for a group of five people.

AHMEDADAD: In a landmark judgment in any wildlife poaching case in the country, a tribal gang of 16 from Katni in Madhya Pradesh was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment for killing Asiatic lions of Gir by a Bhavnagar court.

Chief metropolitan magistrate, Bhavnagar, pronounced the case as a criminal conspiracy punishable under the Indian Penal Code besides the Wildlife Protection Act on Thursday. Prabhakar Keshav Gajakosh, the main accused and the rest, who are already in jail in an earlier Gir lion poaching case under wildlife laws, will now concurrently serve both the sentences with a fine of Rs 2,000. This is the highest term in any poaching incident across the country.

Carcasses of two lions were found buried in a private farm in Bhanderiya village of Jesar taluka, Bhavnagar district, with bones and claws missing, leading to suspicions of a poaching gang operating in Gir. Before that, five lions had been killed under mysterious circumstances in Gir forest in Junagadh. The accused who belong to Beliya tribe of MP were nabbed with spears and traps.

Chief metropolitan magistrate AI Shaikh convicted the accused under Section 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle, etc., of any value or any animal of the value of Rs 50) and 120 (B) (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) of IPC besides wildlife protection laws.

The court also directed the jail authorities to take care of the 15 children who were with the 16 accused. The court directed the authorities to take care of the upbringing of the children and also their education and report it back to the court.

AHMEDABAD: It was a prized catch for Karnataka police officials in December 2007 when they lay their hands on Prabhakar Keshav Gajakosh, a notorious poacher with national and international links. The arrest was made possible on the basis of information passed on by Gujarat police.

Gajakosh, 52, who is among 16 convicted in Asiatic lion poaching case on Tuesday, was later transferred to Gujarat police for allegedly selling lion remains in international market. Gujarat police officials said that his role was pivotal in infusing confidence in the lion poachers that they would get a good prize for their catch.

Keshav Kumar, the then IG, CID (Crime), who investigated the case, told TOI that the man is actually a link that had made the case a national one.

"Initially, it was thought to be a handiwork of a single gang. However, when the investigation progressed, new names surfaced and the main one was of Gajakosh, a native of Karnataka who used to operate in the jungles of Hubli. He along with other poachers in Uttar Pradesh used to trade the bones and organs in international market," he said.

Gajakosh, a native of Hubli, Karnataka, was a local politician and contractor for forest timber who later switched over to poaching and got in touch with India's oldest known poacher, Abdul Kader Chaudhary, 69, also from Karnataka. The duo is said to have smuggled more than 100 tiger skins outside the country.

When arrested, Gajakosh was found possesssing 23 leopard skins, 3 tiger skins and 20 river otter skins. Gajakosh said to have sold tiger bones for medical purposes to other countries. According to officials, he is a part of bigger nexus spread over Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka.

The dead body of a 18 months old male leopard was found yesterday morning on Station Road in Gir West. It is said that in the early morning leopard came out of Hardik Gadhiya's farm and was crossing the road when a four wheeler caused the accident. RFO Talala has field the complaint and start investigation against unknown driver. Body was taken to Sasan for postmortem and burnt.

Ahmedabad (PTI): A Bhavnagar court on Thursday sentenced 17 people to five years of imprisonment for killing four lions from Gir wildlife sancutary in 2007.

Chief Judicial Magistrate A I Sheikh convicted 17 people including one wildlife goods trader Prabhakar Keshav Gajakosh from Karnataka for killing four lions, and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 each.

Three cases were registered, two in Junagadh district and one in Bhavnagar for the killing of ten lions in 2007. This is third conviction for poaching lions. In October last year, 20 people were convicted in the Junagad cases.

In 2007, the forest department officials had found ten lions killed in areas surrounding Gir wildlife sancutary, which is the last abode of Asiatic Lions.

After an uproar on poaching incidents the State, Gujarat government had handed over the inquiry to state CID (Crime). The CID (Crime) in its inquiry found out that members of Bahelia tribe from Katni district of Madhya Pradesh were involved in killing of lions in Gir.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

26-02-2009Lions attack two in Amreli villagesTimes of IndiaPrint Edition

Amreli : After a month and a half's gap, a pride of four Asiatic lions attacked and seriously injured two persons at separate places in Gir on Tuesday evening. Laxman Parmar, 45, a resident of Mahadevpura of Chalala in Amreli district, was watering fields of Bhikha Patel on the outskirts of Nana Samadhiyara when he spotted the lion at 5 pm. Parmar hid behind a 'baval' tree to save himself, but one of the lions chased him out and pounced on him. The big cat bit him in the back.

The same pride went on to Kami Kerala village, which is a few kms away. About 7 pm, the lions attacked 28-year-old Kanu Charoliya near a crematorium.

A dead body of four year old lion was found in Gidardi village forest area in Gir East. Postmortem reported natural death. DFO Shree Raja said that cub may have been separated from its pride and hence may have died due to starvation.

In another incidence villagers of Gadhiya (Gir East near Dhari) reported ill lioness. She was successfully caged by the forest department for treatment. Lioness is about 8-10 years old.

Aaras k jha & jumana shah. ahmedabad was tuesday's wildfire in gir forest a result of some accident or deliberately started by poachers to divert foresters' attention? the wildfire that gutted over 300 hectares of deciduous grassland and forest in mitayala has both foresters and wildlife experts very worried. they suspect that the blaze may have been started by poachers to distract foresters and guards, and divert their energies away from guarding against poachers to controlling the fire.

While the forest department is investigating what started the fire, it is known from past experience (though never proven) that such fires are frequently started by criminal elements to divert foresters' attention so that poachers can kill wildlife or steal other forest produce without getting caught. sources said that such fires are also started to discredit the forest department or sometimes simply to settle scores with some forest personnel.

Talking about the fire that broke out on tuesday, the conservator of forests, junagadh, mm sharma, said the forest fire was very small at the beginning but it soon spread over a wide area because of strong winds. "around 300 to 500 hectares of deciduous forest may have been lost," sharma said. "we have to investigate the cause of the fire but the possibility of this being a deliberate act by some local people cannot be ruled out."

Environmentalist manish vaidya, who is closely involved with wildlife conservation in the country, said that there could be many causes of the fire.

poachers to blame? "the involvement of some poachers' gang cannot be ruled out," environmentalist manish vaidya said. "they are known to operate in this manner."

be that as it may, it will be difficult for forest officials to absolve themselves of all responsibility in the matter. while senior forest officials do not want to be quoted on the sensitive issue of poachers' movements in the sanctuary when elections are round the corner, they admit that they cannot afford a poaching controversy so close to the lok sabha polls.

principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) pradip khanna flatly denied that officials were keeping mum because of the forthcoming polls. "the cause of the fire in gir forest has not been established yet," he said. "moreover, the fire was not that serious as only dry grass and leaves were burnt. we will definitely be inquiring into its cause but, prima facie, it appears that the fire was accidental. we don't think that there was any loss of wildlife as it was a ground fire. but we will find out the truth."

deputy conservator of forest, gir (east), m raja, denies there had been any movement of poachers in the forest area during the fire. "the fire may have been started deliberately by local people because we catch and penalise people who encroach on forest land to graze their cattle," he said. "they start such fires to discredit us."

Sunday, February 22, 2009

At about 11 : 30 AM a lion attacked a motor – cyclist near Jithla village on Alidhar Road of Kodinar Sub – district. Man fell down on theroad and lion bit him on his thigh and bullocks. Man his admitted to Junagadh hospital and is safe.

Junagadh: Forest fire raged across tall grasslands of the Mitiala range of Khamba in Gir (east) through Tuesday and Wednesday. Although no loss of life has been reported, the blaze has spread across 300 hectares of the sanctuary. While much of the fire has been brought under control, the danger hasn't diminished as the region has been hit by strong winds.

Gir is the last refuge of the endangered Asiatic lions, with a core area of 258 sq km. The entire expanse of the Sasan-Gir sanctuary spreads over 1153 km.

"We first sent a 200-strong team of forest officials and fire-fighters on Tuesday. We increased the numbers to 500 by Wednesday,'' said M M Sharma, conservator of forest, Junagadh. "Officials were confident of containing it, but the fire spread,'' Sharma said.

"This area houses about 18 lions and they basically form a floating population. But no loss to wildlife has been reported,'' he said, adding, "Either it was an accidental blaze or somebody played a mischief. We are not ruling out anything.'' TNN

BLAZE IN LION'S LAST BASTION

Blaze started at 4 pm on Tuesday Around 400 hectares of land burnt in Mityana, a part of the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary More than 200 forest personnel called in to fight the fire Blaze brought under control late Wednesday morning, but fire still burning The area is 20 km east of the core area in Amreli district and has tall grass patches The lions in the area have fled to other parts, wardens said But dislocated lions, a fiercely territorial animal, could become disoriented and create problems, even fights with other lions No sabotage suspected and fire could be accidental in the area which has received no rainfall since September 2008

CAT STATS

Number of lions in Gir | 349 Gir only place in the world where Asiatic lions live in the wild A plan to create a second home by relocating a few lions to a sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh rejected by Gujarat

PAST INCIDENTS

Jan 23, '09 | A small fire in Dalkhania range in Gir east controlled in 40 minutes April 04, '08 | Dry grass spread over 125 hectares of land in Hadada range in Gir east March 13, '08 | 85 hectares of land in fire near between Ghantula hill and Hanuman Gala in the Tulshishyam range Jan 22, '08 | 500 hectares of fire in Mityala range in Savarkundla

JUNAGADH: Was it a case of a controlled fire going out of control? While the forest fire that broke out in the tall grasslands of Mitiala range of 300 hectares of forest area of the Gir (East) on Tuesday afternoon was brought under control, experts say a routine exercise by forest officials could have gone out of control resulting in the fire.

A team of around 1,000 officials managed to control the situation by Wednesday morning. Officials say no loss to wild life was reported in the fire that gutted around 300 hectares (around 3 sq km) of forest area.

Forest department conducts controlled fire to get rid of excess grass in the region during this time of the year. Sources say the exercise is done to facilitate lions.

"This area houses about 18 lions and they basically form the floating population. But, no loss to wild life has been reported," said MM Sharma, conservator of forest, wildlife, Junagadh.

The department is investigating into the incident. "Either it was an accidental fire or somebody played a mischief. We are not ruling out any of these theories," said Sharma.

Strong winds in the hilly region made things more difficult for forest officials controlling the fire, said M Raja, deputy conservator of forest.

Senior officials are also probing whether somebody played a mischief to camouflage sale of saniyar' grass, a variety found in abundance in the region. Saniyar grass is the preferred fodder for wild life and livestock here.

A forest fire had taken place in Mityala jungle on 17th Feb. it has engulfed about 500 Ha of land. After 18 hours of hard work of about 550 guards and supervision of DCF Raja fire is now controlled. He is now investigating the cause of fire.

Amreli, Feb 18: In one of the worst ever forest fires, around 400 hectares of land was burnt in Mityana, a part of the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, but, the forest department (FD) officials claimed that no animals casualties were reported.

"Around 400 hectares of hilly forest land, covered with grasses five to six feet tall, was affected in the forest fire that broke out yesterday," forest department officials said.

"It was a tough task to control the fire as the Mityana is a hilly terrain. Around 500 people, including the forest staff, did an all out effort to control the fire by 0300 hours this morning," they said.

"Animals like lions do not live on hilly terrain, so there was no threat to their lives. We have also not found bodies of any small animals from the affected area so far," officials said, adding that the reason of fire was yet to be ascertained.

Now tell us one good reason, why we should send our Lions to MP, UP or even Timbuktu? After what did they do to our tigers in Sariska, we have no reason to take this risk. At first lions were given the title of king, but when they dwindled, they were replaced by the tiger. After the Sariska scandal, when we thought our lions would regain the title, they were being methodically killed. Maldharis, old buddies of lions, were suspected of the massacre, when lions started doing a Jalianwallah. Nobody knew what was happening; fingers were pointed at skin traders from Ahmedabad and nobody could trace Sherabhais or Sherubhais. Eventually someone stumbled on a group of acrobats posing as labourers in Gir forests.

They were actually, tight rope walkers with bloodshot eyes and big moustaches as their women pretending to be pregnant carried blood stained bags of lion loot in folds of their saris. So, no claws, skins or aphrodisiac bones were found from Ahmedabad, because this was not the handiwork of a local Shera, but a Sher Singh from MP. He had planned the massacre of lions to the last detail with drugs, traps, spears et al.

The poor lions were baits in a larger international racket even as higher ups were deciding whether to keep lions in Gujarat or shift them to MP. The picture is no longer bleak, as recently with a nod from both SC and CZA, it was decided to set up a lion park at Amreli.

A pair of lions was also gifted to Ahmedabad zoo, so may the tribe increase. We are no authorities on wild life, but we believe that the lion population could multiply in zoos. If you have ever wondered about the meaning of CZA, it is the Central Zoo Authority of the government of India, connected with the ministry of environment and forests, which controls zoo ethics of the country. CZA was set up in 1992 and works for improvement of zoos and closes down badly maintained zoos. The Indian method is followed by other countries and recently they have brought out a calendar about leaders of zoo movement in India, which includes a photograph of my father as Ahmedabad zoo is still rated the best.

At last, it is heartening to know that the Amreli National Park will preserve the Asiatic lion, so that the lions do not become an extinct race. We are no wild life experts, but maybe, lions should be rounded up, fitted with monitor belts and shifted to protected areas, so that they can be seen only through forest department tours, not organised by novices or else the last of the Asiatic lions will disappear and will be seen only as an illustration in our children's textbooks!

Ahmedabad: Gujarat may be known for its Asiatic lions but data shows that there is also a large population of leopards. According to 2006 survey of the forest department, there are 1,070 leopards moving in the entire state and the figure shows a seven per cent rise since 2002.

Conservator of forests, HS Singh said that leopards are moving out but only in search of food and they savour dogs, goats and pigs. According to him, it is usually the male that ventures out. Before 1950 leopards were found in whole state, says Singh.

C Pandey, director Gujarat Ecology and Education Research (GEER) says that leopards are mainly found in Sabarkantha. Former Principal conservator of forest GA Patel believes that lack of water could also be the reason behind the animal leaving its own territory. He recalls an incident when a leopard got into a goods train wagon and travelled to Ahmedabad.

Of the total leopards, 35 per cent are found in protected sanctuaries while 14 per cent are found in reserve forest area. Gir, Mitiyala, Barda and Pania in Saurashtra, Vansda, Ratanmahal, Dangs, Shoolpaneshwar and Jambubuhoda in central and south Gujarat and Banaskantha and Sabarkantha in north Gujarat are leopard bases.

Officials say that the leopard can move up to 60 kilometres an hour approximately.

Monday, February 09, 2009

09-02-2009Eco club in schools near sanctuaryTimes of India By Himanshu Kaushik

Ahmedabad : The gen-next eco activists could be right in your home. Forest department officials are now roping in school students for conservation of sanctuaries like Nalsarovar, Thol and even Gir. The move comes in the wake of success tasted by the forest department after setting up an eco club for lion conservation near the Gir Sanctuary. The clubs are aimed at creating awareness about wildlife in and around their area.

Gujarat Ecological Education Reserch (GEER) had formed 300 eco-clubs of schoolchildren in surrounding 300 villages of the Gir National Park and Sanctuary(Junagadh, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts) for the conservation of Asiatic Lion. It also formed 300 eco-clubs under National Green Corps programme and Brihad Gir programme. The clubs are formed as a part of the NGC programme by the Union ministry of environment and forests.

Officials said these clubs in Gir not only bring the students closer to nature but, also to wild life. The 300-odd eco clubs around Gir not only acquainted the students to the Asiatic lion, but also got them a first-hand experience of being close to the big cats.

Recently, for the first time, these 300 clubs of Gir were taken to Gir and were shown Asiatic lions and their habitat. A quiz related to wildlife were also organized. Director of GEER, CN Pandey said that the eco-clubs in Gir were a big hit for the conservation of the lions as once these school kids are made aware of the lions, they become more vigilant and thus more conscious towards conservation.

GEER will now move a proposal to have these clubs around other sanctuaries in the state, which will further give a boost to preserve the wildlife in the entire state. GEER has so far formed 6500 odd clubs but, these were spread all over the state and not concentrated around the sanctuaries.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

07-02-2009Two young girls die by falling in WellGujarat SamacharBriefly translated from Gujarati

In one more 'Well' accident, three girls fell into a Well at Nal (Rabarika) village. One of them managed to survive while Daya Merabhai Aalgotar(11 years) and Sejal Mansukh Khandhera (10 years) died due to drowning. Daksha Kantibhai was 80 ft deep with 5 ft deep water. Girls had gone into the countryside to pluck berries.